How To Choose a Content Marketing Agency

Content marketing is one of the most effective and affordable ways to create awareness about your brand, while building a lasting relationship with your target customers. But it is crucial to enlist the help of the right people to make sure you add value to your business with content marketing and acquire the results you want. Hiring a content marketing agency is rife with pitfalls, so it’s critical to invest time and effort into contracting with a qualified agency that specializes in content marketing; instead of an ad agency that provides holistic solutions.

Picking the right content marketing partner

Now that you’re set to outsource your content marketing, here are seven things to keep in mind when picking an agency:

Subject matter expertise

There’s no way to do high-quality content marketing without a comprehensive understanding of the client’s industry and challenges, together with the market competition. That’s why subject matter expertise is crucial. Your content marketing efforts can fail if your agency doesn’t understand why you need to produce top-notch content.

There are a few different ways to evaluate subject matter expertise. For example, follow the agency you’re interested in hiring on social media and check out their content streams. Do they demonstrate in-depth knowledge about your market or industry? Is the agency a champion of content? If the agency creates content that could work well for your target audience, then watch out for it. If there are content marketing competencies that you know your own team lacks, look out for those in the team you’re hiring at the agency. If you already know some of the agency’s clients, speak to them as part of your due diligence.

Diversity of work

Before choosing an agency, it’s essential to get a quick snapshot of their portfolio. This will help you determine the breadth and depth of campaigns the organization has worked on in the past; the quality of their work; and the company’s client roster. Is the agency adept at creating different types of content formats such as infographics, videos, and data visualizations? If you want your business to remain competitive, you’ll need your content to be presented in different, innovative formats.

Thought leadership

Does the agency you’re picking appear to be a thought leader, or is it part of the crowd following everyone else? There are a few ways in which content marketing agencies can demonstrate thought leadership. For example:

• The agency produces authoritative articles with a unique point of view on your respective industry or market.

• The agency pro-actively seeks opportunities to speak and participate at industry conferences and events.

Client testimonials and case studies

You’re entrusting the agency with your brand’s reputation, so it’s absolutely essential for you to ask for client testimonials, case studies, or contact information of its past clients. Talking to the agency’s previous clientele is part of your due diligence. This gives you a complete picture of how the agency functions. Never rush the process, ask lots of questions, and sometimes, trust your gut. If you feel the agency isn’t a right fit for your brand, move on.

Success metrics

What key performance indicator or KPIs--does the agency use to measure its success? Do those KPIs align with your company’s goals? How long has the agency’s clients been in business with the company? Are they renewing their contracts? Many brands use different metrics to measure their content marketing success: high-quality links, total social shares, unique visitors, leads, organic rankings by investing in quality content, etc. Ensure the agency is completely transparent with reporting data.

Agency’s reputation and history

When you examine the agency’s history and reputation, don’t forget to take a look at the leadership and management of the company. Do people leading the organization have extensive experience in your industry or in the market? Observe the quality of writing on the agency’s blog. Take a deep dive into all their case studies you can find to gauge the content marketing agency’s performance and style of working.

In-house content writing services

Deciding on a content creation agency is incomplete without evaluating the writers in the team. It’s generally better for you if the agency has a strong team of in-house copywriters, content writers, graphic designers and more to ensure that the quality of work delivered to you is consistent. Plus, it gives the agency and its content and creative team time to learn your business, industry and services.